goubet



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

0.1).G0U-BET.

SUBMARINE' TORPEDO BOAT.

No. 352,124. Patented Nov. 9, 1886'.

INVENTOR= NESSES: I

WTZZFW 7 By his Attorneys N PETERS. PhnluI-ilhngnhcr. Waihinglnn. I)v C.

(No Model.) 7 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

O. D. GOUBET.

SUBMARINE TORPEDO BOAT.

Patented Nov; 9, 1886.

l l l l INVENTOR WITNESSES m- 9M By his Attorney ,8.

H. mm mwmm n w. wamn D c librium of the boat when submerged.

UN iron S ATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLAUDE pr sms GOUBET, or PARIS, FRANCE.

SUBMARINE' TORPEDO-BOAT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 352,124, dated November9, 1886.

Application filed November 27, 1885. Serial No. 184,078. (No model.)

do-boats for naval warfare which are designed to run under water; andthe principal object of my invention is to increase the stability of theboat when submerged.

One of the principal obstacles tothe movement of submarine boats istheir lack of stability. Indeed, when a boat is completely submerged itsequilibrium may be destroyed by the least displacement of the interiorweight. By reason of the Velocity required the dis placements of theboat are accentuated in ascending or descending, according to the angleof inclination. r

I realize perfect equilibrium of the boat by means of my construction,which I will now describe with referenceto the accompanying drawings,wherein Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of my improvedtorpedo-boat, and Fig. 2 is a plan, with the shell partly broken away toshow the interior. Fig. 1 is a view of the screw-propeller-drivingmechanism detached, and illustrating how it may be driven by handthrough the medium of cranks. Figs. 2 and 3 are respectively a sideelevation and plan on a larger scale, showing the screw and themechanism for shifting the angle of its axis of rotation. Figs. 4. and 5are views showing a mechanism detached and enlarged for illns-;

trating the principle of preserving the equi- Fi 4. is in elevation atthe left and in section at the right. Fig. 5 is a central transversesection of Fig. 4. Figs. 6 and 7 are detachedand enlarged fragmentaryviews designed to illustrate the mode of mounting cars on the sides ofthe boat, to beoperated from the inside. This device may be denominatedan hermetic rowlock.

diagrams illustrating the form of the boat. Fig. 11 is an enlarged anddetached View illustrating the preferred form of friction-clutchemployed. V

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, it will be seen that the boat has acigar shape and is de Figs. 8, 9, and 10 are geometrical signed to bepropelled by a screw, W, which may be driven by a motor, M, as seen inFig. 1, or by cranks, as seen in Fig. 1; or in case of injury to thescrew or its driving mechanism, the boat may be propelled by cars X.

In the bottom of the boat are formed tight water-chambers h h, suppliedby pipes from a three-way cock, P, which admits water to either or bothof these chambers, as desired. A pump, 0, driven by motor M, serves toremove the water from these chambers. On the chambers h h is mounted thecompressed-air chamber b, and on this chamber are the seats for theofficer and steersman, who form the entire crew. On the top of the boatis a dome, the cap a of which is hinged and removable to admit the crew.The margin of this cap rests on a rubber ring ina channel, 10, to forman airitightjoint. The admission of air to the boat from chamber b iscontrolled by a valve,

6, Fig. 2. The air passes first to chambers h h by a pipe, J, whereby itis moistened,'and

it escapes thence to the interior of the boat by a pipe, 70, whichdischarges in the dome near thelevel of the heads of the crew. The vitiated air is removed by an air-pump, d.

The trimming device whereby the co uilibrium of theboat ismaintainedwill now be de- 0 scribed.

A is a pendulum suspended in the center of the boat and connected to aclutch-shifting bar, 4.,which act's,wl1en the pendulum swings, to shifta clutch,5,so as to set a double pump, 8 5 V, (seen in plan in Fig. 2,)in motion, either to the right or left, depending on which way the boatinclines with respect to the pendu lum A. This pump V is connected bypipes (not shown) with two reservoirs, A and A 0 one in the stern andthe other in the bow of the boat,in such a manner that when running inone direction the pump will force water from reservoir A to reservoir Aand when its motion is reversed it will force the water 5 from A to A".WVhen the boat sinks at the bow, the pendulum A will swing in that direction, and through bar 4. shift the clutch 5,so as to set pump V inmotion to pump water'from reservoir A? to reservoir A. When the boat roosinks at the stern, pendulum A swings in that direction and 'setspump Vto work to force water from A to A In point of fact,the action is soquick and the pump so powerful that the boat will be righted before itcan reach any considerable degree of inclination, and in practice thisgoverning device will always maintain it in a horizontal position, or onan even keel, whatever may be the depth at which it may be submerged.

The boat is provided with a weight or mass of metal, X, on its bottom toserve as ballast. This weight is fixed to the boat by a bolt, 9, on thelower end of which is screwed a nut,6, which rests in a recess in theweight, X. The bolt g, in entering the boat, passes through a box, 8,fixed to the boat-bottom and provided with a conical seat to receive a.cone, 7, on the bolt. This prevents leakage around the bolt. On itsupper end the bolt 9 has a suitable head, as shown in Fig. 1.

The boat is submerged by allowing water to flow in and fill thepartitioned reservoirs h h, and it is brought to the surface again byexpelling this water by means of the pump 0; but should the pump breakdown or fail to operate from any cause, it will be sufficient to turnthe screw 9 by any means, and this will run off the nut 6 from its lowerend and permit the weight X to fall off. The boat will then rise to thesurface, despite the water in chambers h h.

The motor M, which drives the screw-propeller and the several pumps, isan electric motor, and the electro-motive force is furnished byaccumulators stowed in lockers in the forward part of the boat, asseenin Fig. 1.

My boat is provided with a screw-propeller. W, driven from the motorthrough a universal joint, whereby the axis of the propellershaft may bemade to assume an angle, laterally, with the axis of the boat. Thisenables me to steer the boat without the aid of a rudder, The mode ofmounting the propeller and changing the angle of its shaft in order tosteer the boat, will now be described with reference to Figs. 2 and 3,wherein \V is the screw-propeller, the shaft of which has a long bearingin a frame, B. This frame B is hinged at O O to two links, D D, whichlinks are hinged at E E to a stern-piece on the boat. Thepropeller-shaft is coupled to the motorshaft F by a universal joint, G,and the jaws in which the links D D are coupled are toothed at H H, soas to compel the frame 13, carrying the propeller, to swing on the axisof the joint G. The inner end of the upper links, D, is provided withteeth like a toothed gearwheel, and these teeth mesh with the thread ona worm or screw, H, which is rotated by means of a chain andsprocket-wheels from a steeringwheel, m, under control of one of thecrew, as seen in Fig. 1. Thus, the propeller may be swung from side toside on its hanging axis in the same manner as a rudder.

Referring now again to Fig. 1, S represents a long fixed bearing for themotor-shaft, with suitable packing to prevent entrance of water. Themotor-shaft is divided or cut inside the clutch-sleeve 12, the sleevebeing splined on the motor part or end of the shaft. The miterwheel 13is loosely mounted on this part of the shaft. The miter-wheel 14: iskeyed on the propeller part of the shaft. The intermediate wheel, 15, ismounted loosely on a hearing below. By shifting the clutch-sleeve thepropeller may be arrested, or may be made to revolve in eitherdirection. This is effected by means of a reversing-lever, a, whichconnects (see Fig. 2) by a bar, 16, with the shifting lever or fork.

My boat is managed as follows: The officer and sailor descend into theboat at the dome, which is afterward closed hermetically by the cap orhinged cover a. The dome is provided with glazed peep-holes in front ofthe men. which holes are protected by gratings, and have wickets orcaps, whereby they may be quickly closed in the event of the glass beingbroken. The torpedoYis mounted on the boat back of the dome and isconnected by a bayonet fastening, detachable from the inside. it isconnected to an electric exploding-wire wound on-a drum, 11, andconnected with the electric source by means of a commutator. Thepressure of air in the boat or shell, and in the reservoir, is indicatedby manomcters.

Before submerging the boat the officer sights the object to be attained,(as a vessel of the enemy, for example,) getting the proper alignmentwith the aid of the mast or jack-staff U. (Seen in Fig. 1.) Whenproperly headed for the object, he notes the bearing on the compass Oplaced directly before him; This observation made, he opens the cock P,which admits water to the reservoirs hit. This sinks the boat below thesurface, and when it has reached the proper depth, as indicated by amanometer, s, in. the dome, he closes the cock 1?, and directs the boatby the compass toward the object to be attained. \Vhen the boat hasreached the vessel, which can be ascertained very readily through aglazed aperture in the cap a of the dome, the boat may be manneuvered tosecure the best position, and may be made to ascend or descend byoperating the lever r, Fig. 1, which controls the clutch which connectsthe pump 0 with the motor. When the proper position under the vessel hasbeen reached, the torpedo Y is liberated. It rises in the water, and thepoints on its crown fix themselves in the bottom of the vessel to asufficient extent to hold it in position.

Vhen the torpedo has been set free, the wire from the reel or drum 11,Fig. 1, is payed out or unwound as the boat moves off, the revolutionsof the drum indicating to the pilot the distance moved. Vhen the boathas moved away a distance of from one hundred to one hundred and fiftymeters, the electric circuit is closed and the torpedo exploded.

Referring now to Figs. 4: and 5, which are designed to illustrate theprinciple of my device for maintaining the equilibrium of the boatautomatically, I is a receptacle or housing which is supposed to beplaced in the cen ter of the boat, and K K are two tubes or hollow arms,bearing at their ends, respectively,

'the globular reservoirs N N. Pipes Q Q, re-

spectively, connect these reservoirswith. a

double pump, R, arranged in the receptacle 1. This pump is of such acharacter that when revolving in one direction it will force the waterfrom reservoir ,N to reservoir N, and when revolving in the otherdirection it will operate inversely and force the water from 'N to N.The pump is driven from a shaft, 1,

arranged below it, on which are loosely mounted two bevel-wheels, 2 2.These mesh with another bevel-wheel, 3, which is driven constantly by aspring-motor. (Not shownin the voir N, for examplethe pendulum swingstoward N and sets the pump R in motion to pump water frommeservoir N toN, thus restoring the equilibrium. Weights may be suspended from thereservoirs to test theapparatus, which may be suspended from the pivotalpoint of suspension of the lever 13.

The boat is supplied with oars for hand propulsion, as before stated.These are seen in Figs. 1 and 2.

In Figs. 6 and 7-1 have shown on a larger scale the construction wherebythe oars may be operated from the inside of the boat and leakage ofwater is prevented. Referring to these figures, Fig. 6 isa sectionthrough the side of the boat in the plane of the oar and Fig. 7 is anexterior elevation. 0 represents the handle or arm of an car whichprojects within the boat through'an opening in its sides, and p is'thehinging fork of the car exterior to the boat. Both of these are fixed toa pivotal bolt or axis, g, which has bearings in a housing, j, bolted tothe outer side of the boat. Where the axis passes throughthe upper andlower sides of the casing or housing j, 1t passes through packed apertures or stuffingboxes, asclearly shown; whereby leakage is prevented. Theblade of the car is composed of movable wings, which close on each otherwhen the blade is forced backward, but which open when theblade is movedforward. This construction I have notshown, as it is not important.

In Fig. 1 I have shown an adaptation to the propeller-shaft of cranks,whereby the two men may propel the boat. This is a simple application ofcranks and gear-wheels, and will require no detailed description.- 1nFig. 11 I have shown the formof automatic clutch I prefer to employ.This clutch comprises a cone, Z, splined on the shaft, and

a conical plate or disk, t, fixed on the shaft.

This latter may be a pulley or toothed wheel. The cone Z is forced up tothe disk t by a Spring which abuts against a ring, '0. The

tension of the spring is regulated by making the ring 1) movable on acollar, to, fixed on a shaft. The cone Z has recesses y, in which restthe hook-like heads on the splines, which latter terminate at and areconnected to the grooved collar 2. By actuating this collar by means ofthe fork I one can engage or disengage the clutch; but the force exertedby the flanges of the grooves Z on the fork is considerable. To relievethe strain I hold the collar z in its disconnected position by latches AA, which are hinged to z, and hook over a collar, H,'fi xed on theshaft. A counter-lever,

2, is coupled to and moves a ring, 52. When the latter is moved to theleft, it raises the latches A A, the collar .2 is freed, and the springpresses the cone 2 up to the disk 25. This device permits, as may beseen, the regulation at' will of the pressure of cone Z on disk t. Theretaining-latches prevent the friction that-would the tension of thespring.

Referring, now, to Figs. 1 and 2, it will be seen that the boat isprovided at its prow with a lance or pike, s, which may be projected bymeans of a lever, T. This lance in holding the cone out of engagementagainst plays in and through a ball-and-socket bearing in the prow ofthe boat, whereby it is capable of being vibrated in all directions, asWell as moved lengthwise. This serves to cut the wires be brought on therollersin the fork of lever F of any torpedoes placed in the path of theboat 7 and the field in which the lance 8 plays. The path of the boatmay be illuminated by means of an incandescent electric light, asclearly Shown.

In order that the boat may make known its position by signals, avertical'tube, Z, is fixed in the upper part of the shell, Fig. 1, andprovided with two wickets or gates, one above the other, and operated byvery simple mechanism. This forms a sort of lock. The upper gatebeingclosed and the lower gate opened, a signal-cartridge is inserted and thelower gate closed. The upper gate being now opened, the cartridge risesby virtue of its feeble specific gravity. Its construction is such thatwhen it reaches the surface of the water it ignites, and the explosionwill notify the vessel or the port to which the boat belongs. Goloredfires may be sent to the surface in the same way to indicate the depthof the boat and its position. A buoy, carrying a telephone, maybelaunched from the boat, whereby the crew of the boat may becommunicated with from the outside.

7 As showing the present state of the art, I may say that I am awarethat submarine torpedopeep-holes, with screws or propellers mounted onuniversal joints for steering, with waterchambersand pumps forwater-logging, and with means whereby an occupant of the boat, clad in adivers. suit, may get outside of the boat while it is submerged.Therefore I do not claimthese features.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. A submarine torpedo-boathaving reservoirs at bow and stern containing a liquid, and meansautomatically controlled by a pendulum for transferring the liquid or aportion thereof from one reservoir to the other, in order to preservethe equilibrium of the boat.

2. A submarine torpedo-boat provided with reservoirs of liquid at itsbow and stern, pipes connecting these reservoirswith a pump, mechanism,substantially as described, for operating said pump, a shiftingmechanism for changing the motion of said pump, and a pendulum connectedwith said shifting mechanism, whereby said pendulum automaticallycontrols the motion of said pump, substantially as set forth.

3. A submarine torpedo-boat provided with a water-reservoir in itsbottom, a cock for admitting water to said reservoir to submerge theboat, a motor for expelling the water from said reservoir to permit theboat to rise, reservoirs at the bow and stern to contain a liquid, andmeans, automatically controlled by a pendulum, for transferring theliquid in wholeor in part from one of these latter reservoirs to theother to trim the boat or preserve its equilibrium, as set forth.

4. A submarine torpedo-boat provided with a weight, X, carrying a nut,and a rotating bolt, 9, extending down through the boat bottom andscrewed into said nut, said bolt having a head on its inner end, and acone, 7, fitting into aseat, whereby the bolt is stopped from endwisemovement, leakage is prevented, and the weight made detachable frominside the boat, as set forth.

5. The combination, with the propeller and its shaft, of the hingedframe in which said 0 shaft ismounted, the motor-shaft, the universaljoint which couples the two shafts, the hinging-links, toothed as shown,and the screw or worm which meshes with the teeth of one of the links,substantially as set forth.

6. A submarine torpedo-boat provided with housings j, mountedexteriorily on its sides and provided with packed bearings in which aremounted axes (1, to which are secured the arms 0 of the oars, and theoars, with their hingingforks 1), attached to the exterior ends of saidaxes q, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

7. A submarine torpedo-boat p rovided with a rotatively-mounted spindlearranged vertically in its roof, with a bayonet-fastening on its outerextremity whereby the torpedo is secured thereto, and means for rotatingsaid spindle from inside the boat in order to release the torpedotherefrom, as set forth.

8. A submarine torpedo-boat provided with a lance, s, at its prowmounted to play through a ball-andsocket bearing in the prow of theboat, whereby the said lance may be protruded and vibrated lateral-1yand vertically, and an electric lamp on the prow to illuminate the fieldin which said lance vibrates, substantially as and for the purposes setforth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of twosubscribing 70 witnesses.

CLAUDE DESIRE GOUBET.

\Vitnesses:

EDWARD 1?. MAoLnAN, GEORGES CHAPINS.

